


Overridden

by CannedBread



Category: HZD - Fandom, Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Gen, HZD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 04:46:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15429330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CannedBread/pseuds/CannedBread
Summary: Aloy makes a new friend by accident





	1. Chapter 1

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Overriding a Watcher to distract the other machines had been the simplest way to slip by them, unnoticed. Aloy had hardly given it a second thought. She’d even picked off one of the lancehorns and stripped the blaze off it without the herd spotting her. It wasn’t until she was clear of them and over the hill before she noticed that her very simple plan had hit an unexpected snag. 

The footsteps coming up behind her made Aloy spin back around, bow in hand, ready to take down the machine. It had seemed like a clean getaway, but apparently one of them had spotted her. Fine, she thought. More parts for me to strip. However, the machine that stood facing her was definitely not what she’d expected.

The overridden Watcher stared back at her, its single large eye unblinking and blue. It stopped when she stopped as if waiting for her to continue. Aloy could hear the soft chirping noise of its scanner looking her over. 

“No,” she said, somewhat uselessly. There hadn’t been any indication that the machines understood voice commands, but what else could she do? “You stay here. Go on. Shoo!” 

The Watcher stayed put. Its head tilted slightly one way and then the other. Despite a lack of any real facial features, she couldn’t help thinking it actually looked confused. 

“Fine just… stay right there then.” Aloy huffed and turned back around. She had places to go and no time to try talking sense to a machine. Behind her, the Watcher chirped, but she paid no attention and started walking again. For its part, the Watcher waited until she’d gotten a whole three steps before walking on after her. 

Aloy looked back over her shoulder and, sure enough, the Watcher was right there. Every move she made, it followed. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you need to stop it.” She said, annoyed. The Watcher remained unaffected. It followed her for a mile and then two with no sign of stopping. It turned when she turned, sped up when she ran, stopped when she stopped. 

“This is ridiculous,” she grumbled. How was she supposed to get rid of a Watcher that wasn’t taking a hint? Aloy stopped again and turned toward it. The Watcher lifted its head, looking at her curiously, and chirped. It didn’t move when she stepped closer or when she put her hands on its side. “You need to go,” she said again, giving the machine a shove. As she pushed, the Watcher jumped sideways, leaving Aloy to stumble forward in an ungraceful, flailing attempt to not land flat on her face. The Watcher chirped at her again, nudging her with its tail.

“That’s not funny.” 

The crooked smirk on her face said otherwise. Aloy stared back at the machine for a long time. It was supposed to be a quick fix to get past a herd quietly. How had she ended up here? The Watcher tilted its head at her again and Aloy sighed, rubbing her face. 

“Fine.” She said. “Come on then. But you’d better not get me into any trouble, understand?” 

The Watcher didn’t answer, but it did follow along after her which Aloy decided to take as an affirmative.


	2. Blue

It had been a little more than half a day since Aloy’s overridden Watcher decided to follow after her. Little by little it got closer to her until it was finally walking along beside her. Aloy glanced over at the machine, still not entirely sure what she was supposed to do with it. Somehow, it felt wrong to kill it. But how long would this last before it became a problem? That was a worry for later, she decided. For the moment, there was something more pressing on her mind.

“What am I supposed to call you?” She asked. The Watcher looked over and chirped, a response it had provided to nearly every question and an answer Aloy didn’t find particularly helpful. “Well, I can’t just call you Hey, you.”

As they walked, it had occurred to her, she’d never really named anything before. It had always just been her and Rost. They certainly didn’t have any pets and she’d simply called things by the names everyone did. There were words for the different machines and animals, other people came with their own names. There really hadn’t ever been any need for her to come up with a name to call something. Even her own name, Rost had given her that. But she’d never thought to ask why or how he settled on it over any other. It hadn’t seemed important.

“Blue,” Aloy said after a long time thinking. “I’ll call you Blue.” It was as good as any name, she thought.

The newly christened Blue didn’t argue.

Aloy smirked and shook her head. She could only imagine what Rost would say if he could see this.


End file.
